In the vehicle collision repair business it is necessary to know measurements on a vehicle under varying conditions. Various systems to obtain and verify those measurements have been developed, including several produced by this Applicant's Assignee. In most cases the measurements are taken on an undamaged vehicle and then again on a damaged vehicle. Those measurements are compared to determine the extent of damage and to guide the repair process. To obtain such measurements a vehicle is placed on a frame straightening rack, bench or floor system and measured using one or more measurement systems. Since some of the measurements are taken on the underside of a vehicle, accessibility to the vehicle's underside is necessary. In addition, the vehicle must be secured to the collision repair apparatus, such as this Assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,335 entitled Vehicle Work Rack Structure, before repairs can be made. In order to secure a vehicle to the repair apparatus various devices have been developed such as this Assignee's Universal Vehicle Stand, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,307. To use such securing device, the vehicle must be raised above the repair apparatus work surface and then the vehicle is attached to the securing device and often to at least three such securing devices. Various means are used to lift the vehicle so that the securing device can be attached to the vehicle, such as the vehicle and vehicle part transportation system owned by this Applicant's Assignee, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,507.
Vehicles are typically measured under two different conditions; with the wheel suspension loaded, i.e. with weight on the suspension or with the wheel suspension unloaded. Several methods can be used to obtain the necessary vehicle measurements both before and after repair work is performed. The degree of flexing of the vehicle body, the type of body damage involved and the particular measuring system being utilized by the operator all must be considered in determining whether the measurements will be taken with the wheel suspension loaded or unloaded.
One method of loading the wheel suspension is to jack up each wheel of the vehicle to be measured and placing a mechanical blocking apparatus under each wheel of the vehicle. Various lifting devices can be used such as a bottle jack, a service jack, an air bag jack, lift bars attached to a work tower associated with a vehicle repair rack or some such other typical device. Some disadvantages of this method include maintaining a sufficient amount of wheel blocking (such as wood blocks) and the time involved in lifting and lowering each wheel of the vehicle during the set-up and take-down of each configuration, including the fact that wheels are lifted one or two at a time.
A second method for supporting or loading the wheel suspension of a vehicle is to remove the tire and wheel assembly and attaching a wheel overhang compensator stand to the wheel lug nuts. Again, the operation of lifting and lowering the individual wheels of a vehicle must be performed as in the previously described method, resulting in unproductive time expended by the operator.
A third method is to use pivot riser-ramps such as shown in the photograph annexed to this application and incorporated herein by this reference. The pivot riser-ramp is placed on the work surface of the vehicle repair apparatus and the vehicle is driven onto such pivot riser-ramp thereby elevating the vehicle so that the securing device can be positioned and attached to the vehicle. A problem with the above described pivot riser-ramps is that they lift a vehicle to a fixed height and usually are built for use with a specific repair apparatus. Additionally, the operator of the vehicle being driven on and off the ramps does not know the vehicle location with respect to the pivot riser-ramps which could result in the vehicle being damaged as it falls off of the pivot riser-ramp. In addition, the fact that the pivot riser-ramp moves through an arc as the vehicle is moved on or off the ramp can cause the operator unnecessary anxiety, especially if each pivot riser-ramp moves at a different time during the operation.
Lack of compatibility of existing pivot riser-ramp devices with more than one vehicle repair system is another problem encountered by vehicle repair shop operators.